Flatiron and method of producing same



July 29, 1952 F. W. CARPENTER FLATIRON AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 21, 1947 0 III A //vv/vr 0/?."- FRANK W.CARPENTER ATTY.

y 29, 1952 F. w. CARPENTER 2,605,378

I FLATIRON AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Filed Aug. 21, 1947 5Sheets-Sheet 2 42 IOI 40 4 97 v I INVENTORI- FRANK W. CARPENTER July 29,1952 F. w. CARPENTER 2,605,378

FLATIRON AND METHOD OF PRODUCING SAME FiledAug. 21, 1947 3Sheet5-Sheet ammr INVENTOR- FRANK W. CARPENTER Patented July 29, 1952 FLATIRON ANDMETHOD OF PRODUCING SAME Frank W. Carpenter, Minneapolis,Minn.,-assignor to General Mills, Inc., a corporation of Dela-Application August 21, 1947, Serial No. 769,919

6 Claims.

. This invention relates to flatirons and more particularly toanimproved adjusting mechanism for fiatirons of the automatic type.

Flatirons are well known in which an electrical heating element iscontrolled by a switch responsive to some condition of the flatiron.Thus, in some irons, the switch may be operated by a thermostat inaccordance with the temperature reaching said thermostat from theoperating parts of the iron. In other types of iron construction theoperation of the switch is achieved directly by means of the expansionof the soleplate of the iron.

In either of these cases it is customary to provide an external manuallyoperable adjusting knob which can be set by the operator to whateverpredetermined temperature is desired. Such a knob is connected in wellknown manner to In all these constructions it is desirable to providesome additional method for adjustment of the switch so that variationsarising in the production of individual irons can be taken care of by afinal factory setting of this additional adjusting member.

In the past such additional adjusting members have been positionedentirely within the cover or housing of theflatiron and it has beennecessary either to remove the cover completely or to remove anddisassemble some other portion of the flatiron, such as the manualcontrol knob, inorder to obtain access to the so-called factoryadjustment.

We have found that it is unsatisfactory to adjust the factory setting ofthe switch in an automatic flatiron when the parts are not fullyassembled. Although the setting can be made on such a disassembled iron,after such iron is reassembled, the addition of the other parts oftenchanges the thermal characteristics or the ventilation or the mass ofthe iron as a whole and therefore results in operating temperaturesquite different from those for which the iron was set. Furthermore,adjustments which involve the disassembly of a screw to loosen and reseta manual control knob or scale are often too easily discovered andabused by the inexperienced user.

With these defects of the prior constructions in view, it is one objectof the present invention to provide an improved method of assembling andtesting a flatiron, in which the adjustment of the switch mechanism canbe made after complete assembly of the flatiron without removal of anyparts.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improvedfiatironconstruction in which such adjustment can be made withoutpartial disassembly or loosening of any part of the iron.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a flatironconstruction in which an internal adjusting member for the 'flatironswitch is accessible through an opening in the Iflatiron through whichforce may be applied directly to the adjusting member to set the switch.

It is still another object to provide .a .flatiron with aninternal-switch adjusting member which is movably mounted and heldin'place by means resisting movement of said member except uponapplication of direct force substantially in excess of that caused byjarring and movement in norvision of a flatiron in which portions of thecover .or housing are spaced slightly from the soleplate and a switchadjusting member is movably mounted inside the cover in substantialalignment with said openings for adjustment of the switch by forceapplied through the openings.

Still another object is the construction of a flatiron with ventilationopenings between the cover and soleplate and with an internal switchadjusting member mounted so as to be accessible through said openings.

Other objects and advantages will beapparent from the followingspecification.

With these objects in view, Ishall now describe one embodiment of myinvention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference characters indicate like parts, and in which Figure 1 is aperspective view of a fiatiron together with a simple testing apparatusand an adjusting device, certain of the parts being broken away andcertain other parts being shown in dotted outline for the sake ofclarity.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, with certain parts broken away to thesection line 3--3 of Fig. 2,

showing details of the mounting of the cover and handle on a flatironembodying my invention.

Fig. 4 is an exploded view (in brackets) showing one form of switchmechanism in combination with an adjusting member, according to thepresent invention.

5 is a top view of the control knob and a portion of the handle of theiron with the knob shown in off position.

Fig. 6 is a similar view with the knob shown in the normal testingposition.

7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the knob shown in an abnormal hotiron position.

Fig. 3 is a similar View with the knob shown in the position which wouldindicate an abnormally cool iron setting,

Fig. 9 is a detailed view showing an adjusting member according to theinvention, and

Fig. 10 is a partial sectional view showing a modified fastening meansfor the adjusting memher.

As shown in Fig. l the invention is used in conjunction with a iiatironhaving a soleplate 20, the construction of which will be furtherdescribed below. This soleplate has front and rear abutments E! and 22and spaced, correspondingly elevated, side portions 23, said por tions2|, and 23 constituting supporting means for a cover or housing 24. Asshown in the figure, the edge of the cover rests on the abutments 21,22, and 23 and is thus spaced slightly from the soleplate to form spacedopenings between the respective abutments. These openings serve twoimportant purposes in connection with this embodiment of the invention.First of all, they provide ventilation for the interior of the coverhousing and thus assist in cooling of the switch mechanism and internalparts to prevent excessive temperatures. Secondly, the openings are sopositioned with respect to the internal switch adjusting mechanism thatthey permit access thereto for adjustment of the setting of the switch.

With reference to Fig. 3, front and rear handle posts 25 and 25 arepositioned above the cover and are joined by a suitable hand restportion 2?. Posts 25 and 26 and grip 2? may be molded of a single pieceof suitable plastic material. Spacers 28 and 29 of known constructionare positioned beneath the front handle post 25 and rear handle post 26respectively in order to provide additional heat insulation of theseparts from the cover 24, as is well known in the flatiron art. Cover 24-is fastened to the front handle post by a screw or bolt 3!. This bolt 3!also passes through a metallic resilient retaining member 32 and fastenssaid retaining member 32, cover 22, spacer and handle post 25 togetheras a unit.

The lower end of the resilient fastening member has an inturned notchedtip 33 which is adapted to be hooked beneath the tapered head of a screw35, which is threaded into the front center of the soleplate. It will beapparent that resilient member 32 can thus be hooked under screw 34 andwhen so hooked will serve to retain the front portion of cover 2 and theassociated handle in operative relation to the soleplate with the frontedge oi the cover firmly seated on abutment 2!.

The rear portion of the cover E i and the rear handle post 26 are inturn fastened to the soleplate by means of a bolt As shown in Fig. 3this bolt passes downwardly from a recess 35 in the rear handle postwith the head of the bolt 4 engaging the lower portion of the handlepost to clamp handle post 26, spacer 29, and the rear portion of cover24 firmly against rear abutment 22 and side abutments 23 of thesoleplate. Bolt 35 is threaded directly into the soleplate, as shown.

The recess 35, which may also serve as a housing for connection of theusual line cord to the terminals of the flatiron heating element, may beclosed in any suitable manner as, for example, by a cover 31 held inplace by a screw 38 threaded into the solid portion of the handle post26.

With reference to Fig. 2, the arrangement of the electrical heatingelement for the iron will now be described. As shown in that figure, thesoleplate 28 is provided with a pair of longitudinally disposed channels40, one at each side of the iron. These channels are designed to containsuitable electrical resistance elements of known construction. Theheating elements, for example, may be composed of turns of Wire 41 woundon a mica core and having insulating sheets 42 of mica on both top andbottom. The assembled heating resistance and mica insulating sheets areclamped firml into the bottoms of channels 4!} by plates 43 of the sameshape as the channels. These plates 43 are designed to fit within theupper portion of channels 40 so that they do not project upwardly anysubstantial distance above the top of the soleplate. It is preferredthat they should either be flush with the top of the soleplate or evenslightly lower in order to provide an unobstructed path for a purpose tobe described.

These pressure plates 43 are in turn held in place and forced downwardlyagainst the resistance elements and the bottoms of channels as by spacedprojections 44 on the lateral bars :35 of a clamping bridge designatedgenerally as 46. As will be seen from Figures 1 and 2, there are two ofthese bars 45, one at each side of the iron, for clamping the respectivepressure plates 43 and heating elements in their channels.

The two lateral members 45 are joined by a rear cross piece 41 and afront cross piece 48 which may be formed from the same piece of metal toform a unitary construction. Clamping screws 49 and 5| pass through therear and the front cross pieces respectively and are screwed into thesoleplate to clamp the parts firmly together as described. It should benoted that cross pieces 41 and 48 may have downwardly turned edges 52 togive them a channel shape for greater strength.

By reason of the presence of the spaced projections 44, it is apparentfrom Fig. 1 in particular that there will be a space or opening 53between the top of pressure plates 43 and the under side of lateral bars45. Since the top of the pressure plates is substantially no higher thanthe upper surface of the soleplate, a clear unobstructed pathwa isprovided through the opening 30 between the soleplate and cover, acrossthe top of pressure plates 43, and through the spaces 53 between thebridge member 46 and the pressure plates. This pathway permitsadjustment of the switch as outlined below.

The electrical circuit by which the parts are connected will next bedescribed with particular reference to Fig. 1. It will be understood, ofcourse, that the resistance elements on their mica cores will bespirally wound in continuous fashion from one end to the other in amanner well known in this art. At one end of the pressure plates 43, i.e., the rear end 'of the iron, binding posts 54 are mounted and suitablyinsulated from the plates. These binding posts are connected to one endof the heating element associated with the respective plate. Connectingterminals 55 of flat strip material are mounted on the binding posts 54and may project upwardly through the cover 24 and spacer 29 into therecess 36 in the rear handle post. Within this recess wires '51 of theusual line cord 58 are joined to the connectors-'55 at 56. Line cord 58terminates in a plug 59 of normal type, which may be connected to thestandard outlets in the'electrical circuit of .a home.

At the front end of the iron similartermina posts 6| are provided oneach pressure plate 43, and these terminal posts are connected to theother ends of the respective heating resistances. From terminal 6|flexible metallic conductors 62 are used to connect said terminals withthe contacts of a suitable switch mechanism.

With reference to Fig. 4, which is a view of the switch mechanism isexploded form, the respective'switch contacts are designated as 63 and64. Contact 63' is mounted on a resilient or spring arm 65 while contact64 is mounted on a similar resilient supporting arm 66. These contacts63 and 64 are insulated from their supporting arms in known manner.Contact 64 is resiliently maintained in an equilibrium position(described below) by the spring action of arm 66.

The end 61 of switcharm 65 is riveted or otherwise fastened to adownward projection 68 on the switch bracket generally designated as 69.The other end of switch arm 65 carries an actuating lug 1| adapted to beengaged by one end 12 of a control lever pivoted at T3 to the switchbracket. Because of the resilience of arm. 65, contact 63 and lug H areurged away from contact 64 and against end 12 of the control lever. Theother end 14 of the control lever engages the peripheral surface 15 of acontrol cam. carried by a suitable shaft 16 which is rotatably mountedon the switch bracket 69. Shaft 16 may be provided with a hexagonalsocket 11 into which one end of a correspondingly shaped control shaftmay be engaged for actuation of the shaft 16 and cam I5.

As indicated in Fig. 1 this control shaft 18 carries a suitable controlknob 19 mounted on the top of the front handle post 25. To improve theappearance of the iron, the control shaft 18 may be enclosed within thefront handle post.

With reefrence to Fig. 4 again, the supporting arm 66 for the otherswitch contact 64 is riveted at one end 8| to another downwardprojection 82- on switch bracket 69. Projection 82 is substantiallysimilar to projection 68. Contact 64 is resiliently urged to theequilibrium position described below, by the spring action of arm 66.Switch arm 66 also has fastened to it at 83 a substantially nonresilient lateral actuating arm 84 adapted to be engaged by any desiredform of switch actuating mechanism for displacement of contact 64 fromits equilibrium position.

This equilibrium position of resilient arm 66 and contact 64 is soarranged that, when the latter is in said position, movement of knob 19(and lever end 12) to one extreme will permit contact 63 to moveslightly away from contact 64 to establish an off position for the iron.Movement of knob 19 toward its other extreme will then cause contact 63to move against contact 64 to close the circuit of the iron and to pushcontact 63 out of said equilibrium position to an extent which dependsupon the degree of movement of the knob and cam.

Thus the position of contact 63 may be initially adjusted by means ofcontrol knob 19, which is accessible on'the top of the front handle postfor ready manipulation by the operator, to establish the temperature atwhich the switch will be opened. The actual automatic opening andclosing of the switch during operation, after the setting has once beenmade for a given ironing project, will then be obtained through movementof contact 64 by actuating arm 84.

The switch support 69 is, of course, mounted upon the interior of theiron and for this purpose is provided with two supporting posts (Figures1 and 4) which are fastened to the soleplate by screws 86.

To actuate the switch arm 66 and actuating arm 84, any desired form ofthermally responsive mechanism may be employed. Thus arm 84 could beactuated by a bimetal thermostatic member or an expandable rod or anyother known form of switch actuator. For purposes of illustration,however, I haveshown in Fig. 4 a lever 88 connected for movement by apair of longitudinal members 89 and 90 which are fastened at their otherend to a stud 95. Member 89 has a relatively lower coeflicient ofthermalexpansion than member 90. The stud is carried by an adjusting member '96pivoted by a screw 91 to the soleplate of the iron at a point relativelyremote from the switch. Thus as lever 88 moves, in response to increasein the temperature of the fiatiron, the projection 81 at the upper endof the lever engages arm 84 and displaces it so that contact 64 is movedout of its equilibrium position and away from contact 63 to open thecircuit. Similarly, when the temperature of the iron decreases again,projection 81 of lever 88, moves away from arm 84 and permits the springarm 66 to move contact 64 back toward contact 63 to close the circuit.

It will be apparent from Figs. 1 and 2 that I have provided in thesoleplate a central channel 98 to accommodate memebrs '89 and 96 so asto permit the adjusting member 96 to be screwed down firmly inengagement with a substantial area of the top of the soleplate. As shownin the figures, this adjusting member 96 has a relatively long adjustingarm 99 disposed longitudinally of the iron. It will also be noted thatthe screw 91. on which the adjusting member is pivoted to the soleplateis spaced laterally from the central channel 98 and from the lug 95. Thepurpose of this spacing is to cause relative longitudinal movement ofthe stud 95 and members 89 and en in channel 98 as adjusting member 96is rotated about its pivot 91.

Because the adjusting arm 99 extends longitudinally of the iron, and theline from stud 95 to pivot 91 extends substantially laterally of theiron, longitudinal movement of stud 95 and members 89 and 90 may beobtained by lateral movement of the adjusting arm 99. In other words,the adjusting member 96 functions substantially as a bell crank toconvert lateral motion of arm 99 into longitudinal'motion of stud 95 andmembers 89 and 90.

With reference to Fig. 1, the purpose of the adjusting arm 99 andaligned openings 3|] and 53 will not be apparent. It will be rememberedthat openings 30 and 53 in combination with the channel arrangement ofthe heating elements, provide a fairly unobstructed path across the topof soleplate 26. Thus, a suitable adjusting bar IOI may be passedthrough the opening 30 between soleplate and cover 24, across the top ofpressure plate 43, through the space 53 between pressure plate 43 andlateral member 45 and on across the central portion of the soleplate toengage one side of adjusting arm 99. If desired, the end of arm 99 maybe bent upwardly for better alignment with the side openings or toprovide a larger area for engagement by the adjusting bar.

Since pivot screw 91 engages the adjusting member 96 and since saidscrew is threaded tightly into the soleplate, it will serve to clamp thelower face of the adjusting member firmly against the upper surface ofsoleplate 20. This clamping action is facilitated by the frictionbetween the lower surface of the relatively long adjusting arm 99 andthe upper surface of the soleplate. A rough finish on these surfaces isdesirable, in order to increase this frictional engagement. Also, asshown in Fig. 10, a lock washer or friction washer IIO may be usedbetween the head of screw 91 and the top surface of adjusting member 96to increase the clamping action and resist rotation of member 95. Hencethe adjusting member 99 will be held in any given position so tightlythat casual shocks due to jarring during normal use will be insufiicientto change said position.

However, when rod IOI is inserted against one side of adjusting arm 99,direct lateral force may be brought to bear against this arm. For thispurpose bar IOI may be tapped with a suitable mallet. This directapplication of force may be suflicient to overcome the clamping effectof screw 97, and the friction between the parts just described, so thatthe adjusting arm will change the position of adjusting member 99 in anydesired manner.

Since the construction of the iron is symmetrical, the force-applyingrod IOI may be inserted from either side of the iron and can, therefore,be used to shift stud 95 either toward the rear of the iron or towardthe front. The longitudinal adjustment of stud 95 caused by lateraladjustment of arm 99 will be transmitted to switch actuating members 98,89 and 90 and will serve to determine the initial position of point 81and consequently the distance through which that point must move beforeit will engage arm 84 to open switch contact 64. In other words, theadjustment of arm 99 will vary the temperature at which the switch willoperate and may be used to adjust the operating temperature of the ironwithin the desired limits.

Thus, it is apparent that the entire I'latiron may be completelyassembled so that the soleplate heating elements, cover, handle posts,handle, and manual operating knob and cord are all in their completelyassembled relationship to each other and thereafter the switch actuatingmechanism may be adjusted to the desired extent by insertion of aforce-applying member IOI from either side of the iron through thespaces 30 and 53 against adjusting arm 99.

In Fig. 1, I have shown a simple device by which the setting of theswitch may be checked. In this figure, a group of ordinary dry cells orflash light batteries I02 may be connected in series with a suitableindicating bulb I03 and two test leads I04 and I05. The test leads I04and I95 may then be clamped to the prongs of the plug 59, with which theappliance is equipped. With this device, it will be apparent that thelight I03 will be illuminated whenever the circuit through the lightbatteries and test leads is completed, and this circuit will becompleted only when contacts 63 and 64 of the flatiron switch engageeach other. Since these switch contacts are not in engagement when theiron is in its off position, the light I03 will not be illuminated whentest leads I04 and I05 are fastened to the prongs of plug 59, provided,of course, the iron is in its normal cold condition ready for test, withcontrol knob I9 in its off position as shown in Fig. 5.

With reference to Figs. 5 to 8, the control knob I9 may then be turnedso that the 01f indicator I06 is no longer opposite the index mark I01on the front handle post. This normal off position is shown in Fig. 5.

The knob I9 will be turned toward the operat ing position so that thetemperature scale br ogher indicia I08 will approach the index mark Atsome point in this movement of the knob I9 the control cam will causeswitch contact 63 to engage switch contact 64 and at this point the testlight I03 will be illuminated. By providing an arrow I09 or other markon control knob I9 at the point which should be opposite index I0I whenthe switch contacts 63 and 64 first make contact in a properly adjustedflatiron, it will be possible for the person making the test to note theposition of knob I9 when the light first comes on and compare theposition of indicating arrow I09 and index I01 to see if the iron isproperly set. Such a proper setting is shown, for example, in Fig. 6where the test arrow I09 is directly opposite handle index I0I.

While a certain amount of tolerance in the position of this arrow oneither side of index I0! can be permitted, it will be obvious that anysubstantial deviation from this position indicates that the iron is outof adjustment. Thus, for example, if, when the test light first comeson, the parts are in the position of Fig. 7, it will be apparent thatthe test arrow I 09 has not yet approached index I01 and therefore theswitch contacts have closed too soon. This would mean that in actualoperation, if the control knob '19 were set at a given temperature,contact 63 would have been pushed too far against contact 64. Thus, arelatively greater movement of contact 64 would be required to open theswitch than should normally be the case at that setting. Or in otherwords, the iron would operate at temperatures substantially higher thanthose indicated by the scale I08.

To correct this situation, it is only necessary to turn knob 19 so thatthe test arrow I09 is directly opposite index I01 and then insert theforce-applying rod through openings 30 and 53 against adjusting arm 99to apply force to that arm in a direction which will change the positionof switch contact 64 so that the test light is no longer illuminated. Inother words, adjusting arm 99 will be moved until the parts are soadjusted that movement of the knob from the off position toward theoperating position will cause the test light to become illuminated justzIiSTthe testing arrow I09 arrives opposite index Similarly, in theevent that the test light is first illuminated only when the knob I9reaches the position of Fig. 8, the parts should again be adjusted toachieve normal operation. In the situation of Fig. 8, it is apparentthat the contacts 63 and 64 did not engage each other until the testarrow I09 had been turned a considerable distance beyond the index markI01. Thus, the contacts are engaging each other too late for normaloperation. This would result in the production of operating temperaturessubstantially lower than those indicated by the scale 108. The properadjustment in this case may be made in the manner just described-withreference to Fig. 7 except that the movement of the adjusting member 96would, of course, be primarily in the opposite direction.

It will be obvious that the index mark I09 can be of any desired type. Amere dot, or a certain portion of th knob structure or design, or aspecific point on the regular temperature scale could be made to servethe same purpose. It is only necessary to know what position of the knobcorresponds to the closing of the contacts on a properly adjusted iron.The switch may then be adjusted so that the contacts close atthatparticular knob position. v

The simple test and adjustment just described is particularly useful fordealers and distributors to whom irons are brought directly by thecustomer and who can make the necessary visual check and adjustmentwithout disassembly of the iron and without expensive testing equipment.

Itwill be apparent also that the method of adjustment and theflatironstructure which permits such adjustment will have even greaterusefulness in connection with more complicated testing apparatus. Thusin fact testing of such fiatirons on the production line, it iscustomary to place the iron on a pyrometer or other device which willmeasure directly the temperature of the soleplate. The iron is connectedto a source of current and control knob 19 is then turned so that anygiven temperature reading on scale I08 is directly opposite index markI01. Should the pyrometer indicate that the soleplate varies from theindicated temperature by more than the permissible manufacturingtolerance, then it is a simple matter to insert the force-applyingmember and change the position of adjusting arm 99 so that the soleplatetemperature will correspond accurately to the temperature indicated .onthe control knob. Such a test, of course, is far more accurate than themore simple visual check previously described, in which the parts areadjusted without actually raising the temperature of the soleplate tocorrespond to normal ironing conditions.

Furthermore, since such a pyrometer test can be made after the iron iscompletely assembled and ready for shipment, it will be apparent thatthe test results will indicate accurately the performance of the iron inthe hands of the ultimate user. This would not be the case if the testand adjustment had to be made as is normally the case, with the flatironor some part thereof in a disassembled condition, since the reassemblyof the iron might so alter the thermal relationship and characteristicsof the parts that the reassembled iron would not operate at thetemperatures or with the accuracy indicated during adjustment and testin the partially disassembled condition. The advantages of this methodof testing and adjusting the iron made possible by structure of the typeherein described will be readily apparent, since the practice of thepresent invention makes it possible to insure greater accuracy in theoperating temperatures of the flatiron during use by the ultimateconsumer.

Thus it will be apparent that a flatiron structure has been provided inwhich the operating range of the switch mechanism may be adjusted afterthe iron has been completely assembled by direct application of forcethrough openings in the fiatiron itself against a movably mountedadjusting member on the interior of the iron. This adjustment ispossible without disassembly of the cover from the soleplate and withouteven the necessity of loosening or moving the manual control knob 19 orany other part of the assembled iron.

While I have shown in the drawings and foregoing specification aparticular embodiment of this invention, various changes andmodifications of the specific structure will be readily apparent tothose persons skilled in the art. For example, the particularshape andmountingof the adjusting member could be substantially variedWithoutdeparture from the essential teachings of the present invention.Likewise, the specific location of the openings which permit access tothe interior of the iron and to the adjusting member could be variedwithin reasonable limits without departure from the spirit and teachingsof my invention. It is my intention that all such changes andmodifications as are readily apparent to skilled workers in this fieldshould be considered within the scope of the appended claims.

Now, therefore, I claim:

1. In a flatiron having. a soleplate, an electric heating element, anda, control switch for said element, the combination of a coverassociated with said soleplate and enclosing said switch, a portion ofthe edge of said cover being spaced slightly from said soleplate to forma relatively narrow peripheral ventilation opening therebetween at alevel above said heatingelement, and an adjusting member connected tosaid switch for adjustment of, the latter, said adjusting member beingmounted and located substantially wholly within said cover and having amovable portion opposite said opening at a level above said heatingelement, the space between said opening and movable portion beingsubstantially unobstructed for adjustment of said member by forceapplied to said portion through said opening without disassembly of anypart of the flatiron.

2. In a fiatiron having a soleplate, an electric heating element, acontrol switch for said element and a cover associated with saidsoleplate and enclosing said switch, the improvement comprising anadjusting member operatively associated with said switch for adjustmentof the latter, said member being movably mounted within said cover, andrestraining means operatively associated with the member and preventingmovement of said member except upon application of direct forcesubstantially in excess of that caused by jarring due to normal use ofthe iron, said flatiron being provided with a pair of openings locatedin the plane of movement of said member and at opposite sides thereoffor direct application of force to said member in two selectivedirections.

3. In .a flatiron having a soleplate, an electric heating element, acontrol switch for the element, a cover associated with the soleplateand enclosing the switch with a portion of the edge of said cover spacedslightly above the soleplate thereby forming a relatively long andnarrow peripheral ventilation opening therebetween, and an externalmanually operable control member connected to the switch, theimprovement comprising an internal adjusting member movably mounted andlocated entirely inside the cover and operatively connected to theswitch for independent adjustment of the ironing temperature withoutmovement of the external control member, said adjusting member having aportion movable in opposite directions in substantially the plane ofsaid ventilation opening, and clamping means frictionally restrainingthe adjusting member against movement from any given adjusted positionduring normal use of the iron, the adjusting member being movableagainst the action of the restraining means by direct application offorce through said peripheral ventilation opening.

4. A flatiron according to claim 3 in which said movable adjustingmember portion includes a fiat lever arm engaging the upper surface ofthe soleplate and provided with a vertical pivot opening, and in whichsaid restraining means includes a combination clamping and pivot screwpassing through the opening and threaded into the soleplate and having ahead engaging the upper surface of the lever arm and holding the arm intight frictional engagement with the soleplate.

5. A fiatiron comprising a soleplate having a top surface, a controlswitch mounted at one end of the soleplate, a cover associated with thesoleplate and enclosing the switch, with a major portion of the loweredge of the cover spaced slightly above the soleplate thereby forming arelatively long and narrow peripheral ventilation opening therebetween,an external manually operable control knob connected to the switch forselection of the desired operating temperature, a thermal control membermounted on said soleplate and having one end operatively connected tothe switch for operation of the latter, and an internal adjusting memberconnected to portions of the control member and soleplate spaced fromthe switch, said internal adjusting member being movably mounted on thetop surface of the soleplate and having an arm movable substantially inthe plane of said top surface and ventilation opening in response todirect application of force through said ventilation opening forindependent adjustment of the position of the control member and henceof the operating temperature of the iron, and means clamping theinternal adjusting member and control member against accidental movementfrom their adjusted positions.

6. A fiatiron comprising a soleplate having a 12 top surface with. alongitudinal channel therein, a control switch mounted at one end of thesoleplate, a cover associated with the soleplate and enclosing theswitch, with a major portion of the lower edge of the cover spacedslightly above the soleplate therby forming a relatively long and narrowperipheral ventilation opening therebetween, an external manuallyoperable control knob connected to the switch for selection of thedesired operating temperature, a thermal control member mounted in saidchannel and having one end operatively connected to the switch foroperation of the latter, and an internal adjusting member connected toportions of the control member and soleplate spaced from the switch,said internal adjusting member being movably mounted on the top surfaceof the soleplate above the channel and control member and having avertical pivot connection to the soleplate at one side of the channel, apivotal connection to the control member within the channel, and a leverarm extending along said top surface and movable substantially in theplane of said top surface and ventilation opening in response to directapplication of force through said opening, said vertical pivotconnection including means clamping the adjusting member and lever armin frictional engagement with the top surface of the soleplate therebyclamping the lever arm and control member against accidental movementfrom their adjusted positions.

FRANK W. CARPENTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re.21,585 Clark Oct. 1, 19401,143,572 Denhard June 15, 1915 1,742,558 Randolph Jan. 7, 19301,993,956 Browning May 12, 1935 1,996,157 Jeppsson Apr. 2, 19352,124,984 McCullough July 26, 1938 2,415,795 Koci Feb. 11, 19472,462,942 Busch et al Mar. 1, 1949 2,486,352 Witzel Oct. 25, 1949

